Hosiery



April ll, 1939. N COHN 2,154,124

HOSIERY Filed Dec 19, 193e llllllllllllllllllllli! di@ In@ j mi' INVENTOR l NORMAN col-1N ATTORN EYS Patented Apr. 11, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 4 Claims.

The invention relates; to garter top hosiery of the type in which an elastic garter is positioned in the welt or top portion of a sock and the invention relates to an improved method for forming such types of socks.

More specifically dened the invention relates to -a method for facilitating the sewing in place of the turned-over top welt or cuff forming portion to secure a smooth, pleasing line of sewing and of most serious import to provide a more rugged and secure attaching of the free edge of the turned over portion than has been possible heretofore with similar constructions.

Still another object of the invention and suppleinenting the mechanical or structural features, is to provide a more artistic and pleasing form of turned-over welt than has been known heretofore in hosiery having a seamless ribbed knitted top portion and in which aspect the invention relates zo to hosiery in general and not necessarily ref stricted to those with built-in garters.

Various other objects and advantages of the invention will be in part obvious from a consideration of the method features of the disclosure and from an inspection of the accompanying .drawing and in part will be more fully set forth in the following particular description of one method of practicing the invention, and the: invention also consists in certain new and novel 30 modifications of the preferred method and other features of construction and combination of parts hereinafter set forth and claimed.

In the accompanying drawing:

Fig. 1 is a view in side elevation of the upper portion of a childs sock of the seamless knitted type illustrating the step of inserting the garter in place beiore the welt or cui is turned;

Fig. 2 is a view similar to Fig. 1 with the welt turned thus illustrating a succeeding step in the method herein featured and showing parts broken away to disclose normally concealed parts;

Fig. 3 is a similar view of the completed hose; and

Fig. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary view of sevs eral of the courses of the knitting adjacent the i juncture line between. the body portion and the top portion of the structure shown in the preceding gure. l

In the drawing there is shown a seamless knitted body portion Ill formed conventionally of courses II and also following conventional practices usually made of fine gauge material. The top of the stocking is formed of a seamless ribbed knitted top portion I2 knitted for the most part oi courses I3 and which again following conven- (Cl. (i6-173) tional practices is formed of a relatively heavier yarn than the yarn used in the body portion I0. While the invention is specically described herein with reference to its application to hosiery where the body portion I8 is a seamless knitted portion and the top portion I2 is a seamless rib knitted portion, it is within the scope of the disclosure to otherwise diiferently knit these two portions, as by a continuous knitting operation where the body may be either plain or ribbed knitting, and in which case the line I9 would form simply a line of demarcation between the two portions rather than a distinctive connecting course.

It is a feature of this disclosure that one or more welt lines are knitted into the fabric forming the top portion. In the illustrated embodiment of the invention four such welt lines are formed in twogroups of which three lines I4, I5, I6 are knitted into the top portion adjacent the edge I1 which iss knitted to the body portion I0 through the line of juncture I8 defined by the usual loose course I9. The fourth welt line is knitted approximately mid-height of the top portion as shown in Fig. 1, or approximately midlength between the band provided with the three closely positioned lines I4--I5--IE and the free edge of the top portion. These welt lines are formed in any known manner for showing a course visually distinctive from the courses forming the balance of the top portion. For instance, the welt lines may be formed by fancy stitches, by stitches of the type usually used to reinforce as by the use of ingrain yarn or by using a yarn which may or may not have reinforcing capacity but which is tinted or colored in some manner distinctive in color from the yarn used to form the balance of the top portion.

With the stocking thus constructed with its tubular top portion upstanding as shown in Fig. 1, an endless band garter 2l is placed to encircle the top portion approximately centered between the -welt lines I6 and 2B, it being understood that at this stage of the proceedings the stocking as a whole is turned inside-out. The top free edge 22 is then folded outwardly and downwardly over the garter 2| as indicated by thev arrow in Fig. 1 and into the dotted line position. In this folding operation the top welt line 20 may be conveniently utilized to locate the fold 23 forming the upper edge of the finished sock. As it is herein suggested that the welt line 20 be utilized as part of the decorative scheme of the disclosure, the upper portion of the stocking will be turned back close to, but spaced from and parallel to the line 20 so that the line will be visible on the outer side of the top portion as shown in Fig. 3.

It is a feature of this disclosure that the free edge 22 be secured to the seamless ribbed top portion by a line of sewing 24 sometimes herein referred to as a securing line which is within the more rugged body of the top portion rather than at the loose course I9. In the specific form of the invention herein disclosed, the stitching 24 is confined to the area reinforced by the band formed by the welt lines I4, I and I6. This reinforcement may be attached by any conventional practice such as by using a heavier thread in the courses I4, I5 and I6 or by an additional thread plated in these courses. In suc-h case the welt lines, or any one of them, provide a convenient guide for assisting the operator in locating the sewing 24 and thus, of course, locating the lower edge 22 in position parallel to, but spaced from, the juncture line II so as to leave therebetween a narrow band 25 of the rugged material of which the top portion is formed. This means that the sewing threads engage in a. portion of the ribbed top which is particularly reinforced and strengthened for this purpose as the stitches have more material to engage than if the stitching was along the thinned out portion of material which forms the loose course at I9. It is further suggested that the stitches at 24 be blind stitches so as to minimize the showing of the stitches on the outside of the stocking top. As it is diicult, if not impossible, to prevent at least some of the stitches from extending through and thus showing on the outside of the stocking top, the welt line construction herein featured tends to conceal and hide any such stitches which may come through, even in the cases where the so-called blind stitching is utilized.

'I'he three lines of courses I4, I5 and I6, are suggested as preferable over a single line at this point because the three lines provide a more easily followable gauge line for the operator than Vthe single line and from an artistic standpoint,

the three closely positioned guide lines provide a most pleasing appearance to what would be otherwise an unbroken vertical striped effect provided by rib topped hosiery. The sewing operator is instructed to locate the line of sewing along the middle line I5 and to keep the: sewing away from the border lines I4 and I 6. He is apparently better able to follow a straight course of sewing than if he had to follow a single guide line.

The addition of these welt lines does not interfere with the desired elasticity of the ribbed top portion and this top portion is free to expand and contract with the garter. While the garter is restrained from .any material movement in the pocket formed by the double layer of material at the top of the stocking, it is entirely free to move relative to the top portion and no binding action takes place between the garter and stocking.

Insofar as outward appearance is concerned, there is disclosed simply the .usual loose course juncture line, I8, then within the body of the ribbed structure forming the elastic top three closely arranged parallel welt lines I4-I6 and adjacent the top of the hose a single welt line 20, all tending to break up the long parallel ribs and providing a pleasing form of topto the hose and which does not disclose any evidence that there is a garter contained in the cuff.

While there have been shown, described and pointed out in the annexed claims, certain novel features of the invention, it will be understood that various omissions, substitutions and changes in the form and details of the described hose and in its construction may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the invention.

- I claim:

l. In the art of forming garter top socks, the method which consists in knitting a seamless ribbed top portion with four courses visibly distinctive from the others, three of said courses being in juxtaposition to form a reinforced narrow band and the other course being spaced from said band, knitting a seamless body portion to the top portion with the reinforced band adjacent to and spaced from the body portion, placing an endless garter on the part of the top portion between the reinforced band and the other distinctive course line, folding the free edge of the top portion back upon itself over the garter using said other distinctive course line as a guide to indicate the location of the bend which is toform the top of the sock, and stitching the free downturned end to the reinforced area and particularly to the middle of the threedistinctive courses while utilizing said three courses as a guide during the sewing operation.

2. In the art of forming turned top hosiery, the method which consists in knitting a seamless ribbed knitted top portion with one interior course thereof visibly distinctive and contrasting from the others, knitting a plain seamless knitted body portion to the top portion along .a juncture line, folding the free edge of the top portion back upon itself until said free edge is at the distinctive line and spaced from the juncture line, and stitching said free edge to said distinctive course while utilizing said distinctive course as a guide during the sewing operation, leaving a band of single thickness of ribbed material bee tween the plain body portion and the double thickness of material at the top of the hosiery.

3. A sock having a seamless knitted body portion and a seamless ribbed knitted top portion with one interior course thereof visibly distinctive and contrasting with the other, said portions being knitted together along a juncture line, the top portion comprising a single layer of material, bent back upon itself to the distinctive course to form solely a double thickness of material at the upper end of the sock and a single thickness of ribbed material between the double thickness and the juncture line, the lower edge of the bent back portion secured directly to the single layer ribbed portion along the distinctive line in said single layer extending parallel to and spaced from the juncture line.

ll. A sock having a seamless knitted body portion and a seamless ribbed knitted top portion, said portions knitted together along a juncture line defined by a loose course, one course of the ribbed top portion providing a line of reinforcement spaced from said loose course, said top portion being bent back upon itself to form a double thickness of material at the top of the sock and the turned back edge secured to the ribbed top portion along said line of reinforcement and thus spaced from said juncture line.

NORMAN COHN. 

